


LOCATE(1L)        MISC. REFERENCE MANUAL PAGES         LOCATE(1L)



NAME
     locate - list files in a database that match a pattern

SYNOPSIS
     locate pattern...

DESCRIPTION
     This manual page documents the GNU version of  locate.   For
     each given pattern, locate searches a database of file path-
     names and displays the pathnames that contain  the  pattern.
     Patterns  can  contain shell-style metacharacters: `*', `?',
     and `[]'.  The metacharacters do not treat `/' or  `.'  spe-
     cially.   Patterns  that  contain  metacharacters  should be
     quoted to protect them from expansion by the shell.

     If a pattern is a plain string - it contains no  metacharac-
     ters  -  locate  displays all pathnames in the database that
     contain that string anywhere.  If  a  pattern  does  contain
     metacharacters,  it  only  displays pathnames that match the
     pattern exactly.  As a result, patterns that  contain  meta-
     characters  should  usually  begin with a `*', and will most
     often end with one as well.   The  exceptions  are  patterns
     that  are  intended to explicitly match the beginning or end
     of a pathname.

     The database contains a list of the files that were  on  the
     system  whenever  the  database  was last updated.  The fre-
     quency with which the database is  updated  and  the  direc-
     tories for which it contains entries are configurable by the
     system administrator.

     If the environment variable LOCATE_DB is set, locate uses it
     as  the  path  of  the  filename  database  instead  of  the
     compiled-in path.





















Sun Release 4.1           Last change:                          1



